How to Dye Easter Eggs Naturally with Tips from Whole Foods

Egg dyeing with kids can be a stressful experience, but this is a great time to embrace the mess and just get down and dirty! With these ideas from Whole Foods, you can dye your Easter Eggs with natural dyes made from everyday ingredients — combine the dyes with these tips for an eggcellent experience.

Set up your dye station outside to avoid messy spills.

Dress the kids in play clothes, just in case.

Be sure to have snacks on hand to prevent the crabbies, but make sure kids wash their hands after eating to avoid crumbs getting into the dyes.

Boil your eggs and make the dyes the day before to save time on decorating day.

Make sure your cooked eggs don’t stay out of the fridge longer than 2 hours — they’re not safe to eat after that!

Coloriffic Dyes

Why use natural dyes? For starters, you probably already have many of the ingredients in your pantry. It’s also a great way to combine a science lesson with fun, and there are no worries about what might be in those mysterious dye packets.

More Colors

For more colors, try some of these options. You might need to adjust amounts to get the color you desire, and remember that the color will get deeper the longer you steep!

Yellow — Lemon or orange peels, carrots or celery seed

Orange — Paprika, cumin, chili powder or yellow onion skins

Red/Pink — Cranberries, raspberries or radishes

Purple — Hibiscus tea

Blue/Lavender — Red cabbage, blackberries, purple or red grape juice

Green — Spinach leaves

Brown/Beige — Coffee, tea or walnuts

Natural egg dyes often produce their own mottled pattern, but you can also create designs by wrapping kitchen twine around the egg before dipping, or produce leaf patterns by placing a leaf on the egg, then wrapping it in nylon stocking. The results are gorgeous!

Put your choice of coloring ingredient (beets, blueberries or turmeric) into a small pot with 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, discarding any solids, and then stir in vinegar. Set aside to let cool until warm or room temperature.

To color eggs, submerge in dye, turning often for even coating, until desired color is reached. For more colors, dye eggs first in one color, then wipe dry and dye in a second color.